Daily care tips for the elderly

The core of daily care for the elderly is not to pile up expensive nursing equipment or follow the trend and buy Internet celebrity health products, but to focus on the three core directions of "basic physiological needs care, emotional value supply, and risk avoidance in advance" and to flexibly adjust based on the elderly's physical condition and living habits. There is no unified standard that applies everywhere.

Many families have fallen into the pitfall of "excessive pursuit of high nutrition." A while ago, I met Aunt Zhang, whose children are filial. She piled up half a cabinet of protein powder, liquid calcium, and various health supplements, and watched the elderly eat them every day. As a result, the aunt didn't like to drink water. She took too many supplements and couldn't keep up with the dietary fiber. She suffered from constipation for three days and finally went to the hospital for enema. She suffered a serious crime. In fact, there is no need to pay attention to the word "nourishing" in the diet of the elderly. The three standards of soft, light and miscellaneous are enough. In particular, we must pay attention to drinking 1500ml of water every day. Don't wait for the elderly to cry thirsty before giving it to them. If they are afraid of the lack of taste, just soak some chrysanthemums, hawthorns, and tangerine peels. It will be more effective than drinking any supplement.

Speaking of this, I remember that many family members asked me before. The old man has bad knees and fell once before. Is it better to lie down more or move more? Doctors from different departments do have different opinions on this matter: Orthopedics are afraid of knee wear and falling again, so they usually recommend less running and jumping and more rest. ； However, doctors from the rehabilitation department will remind you that long-term bed rest will cause muscle loss at a rapid rate, and leg strength will become worse and worse, making it easier to stand unsteadily and fall. In fact, there is no need to impose a standard at all. If you live in an old community and there is no elevator and it is inconvenient to go downstairs, you can just hold on to the sofa or dining table and walk slowly for ten minutes at home. If there is a small flat garden downstairs and someone is with you the whole time, walking slowly for 20 minutes is fine. There is really no need to force the elderly to participate in the "10,000 steps a day" activity. Oh, by the way, if the elderly are already unsteady in walking, don’t always feel that wearing anti-fall airbags is cumbersome. I have seen several people who fell while wearing airbags without breaking bones. Of course, if the elderly are really resistant and feel panicked by the weight, laying anti-slip mats at home and taking away all the small stools that get in the way can solve most of the problems. There is no need to force the elderly to accept equipment they don’t like.

Don’t think that cutting your nails is a trivial matter. In the past two years, I have encountered at least five elderly people whose children’s nails were cut too close to their flesh. They contracted paronychia and were so painful that they could not walk. They ended up going to the hospital to have their nails removed. The nails of the elderly are thick and brittle, especially toenails. When cutting, just leave a margin of about 1 mm. If the onychomycosis is too thick to be cut, soak it in warm water for 10 minutes to soften it before cutting. Do not dig or cut hard. Elderly people who wear dentures must be reminded to take off their dentures and soak them in cold water at night, instead of boiling them with boiling water. An old man once thought that cold water was not clean, so he boiled his dentures in boiling water. After soaking his dentures, they became deformed and could not be worn. He could only drink gruel for half a month, and he lost almost five pounds.

Some family members have argued with me before, saying that the elderly love to be clean and must bathe every day. This really depends on the person. The oil secretion of the skin of the elderly is only less than one-third of that of the young. Washing too frequently can easily lead to dryness and itching, scratching the legs will lead to scars and infection. If you sweat a lot in summer, you can take a 5-minute shower every day. Don’t use irritating soap-based shower gel. In winter, washing once or twice a week is enough. After washing, be sure to apply some moisturizer on the elderly’s calves, elbows, and back. Don’t be too troublesome. When feeding, don't always be afraid that the elderly will lie down to eat. Last time, Uncle Li in the community was lying down to drink the rice cereal fed by his children. He choked in the trachea and turned into pneumonia. He was hospitalized for half a month. Even if he could only sit up for 10 minutes, he should sit on the bedside and feed as much as possible. Don't feed too much in one mouthful. If he always chokes, buy a food consistency regulator and put it in the liquid food. It is much more effective than simply slowing down the feeding speed.

Don’t always think that it’s good to serve an old man with clothes on his hands, food on his hands, and mouth to open. Grandpa Wang, who I took care of before, was a restaurant chef before he retired. His children were afraid that he would be tired, so they wouldn’t let him do any work. As a result, he sat on the sofa in a daze all day long and talked a lot less. Later, we discussed with my family and asked my grandfather to help pick vegetables and peel garlic every day when cooking, and let him clean the table after dinner. On the contrary, he was cheerful every day and his appetite increased by less than half a bowl. In fact, the elderly are not afraid of doing light work. What they are afraid of is that they will become a burden to the family. Many families ignore this.

In fact, nursing is difficult to say and easy to say. Spending more time observing the condition of the elderly will be more effective than reading any number of online strategies. For example, if he suddenly doesn't like to eat recently, don't think about buying appetizers first. First, check to see if his dentures are loose, he has an ulcer in his mouth, or if he has had trouble with his old friend recently or misses his relatives back home. After all, life goes by day by day, and the details of care are slowly learned through daily interactions. There is no standard answer.